The drilling is scheduled to start this month in waters off the Bahamas, just 150 miles from the Florida coast. It's raising alarms among environmental groups and businesses that rely on tourism.
The coronavirus pandemic continues to rip across the U.S. killing many and infecting hundreds of thousands of people each week. It's also upending part-time residencies between Florida and Canada.
Tropical Storm Eta made landfall for the fourth time when it hit Florida's Gulf Coast. Some areas in southern Florida could see up to 25 inches of rainfall total from this storm.
After lashing Central America and the Florida Keys, the storm is expected to make landfall north of Tampa on Thursday, bringing heavy rain and potentially dangerous storm surge.
President Trump is headed to Florida where he remains popular — one poll shows him up more than 28 percentage points in the state's northwest region. But Democrats are hoping to sway some voters.
Research published this week finds that home sales volume and prices have declined in coastal census tracts vulnerable to sea level rise, relative to coastal areas less threatened by climate change.
The Trump campaign is set to run about $11 million in ads in the two Midwestern states he won in 2016. But six states continue to dominate the airwaves, with Florida and Pennsylvania topping the list.
In Florida, the governor and leaders of cities and counties are squaring off over a coronavirus mask order. Or, the lack thereof. The governor says masks can be required but people can't be fined.
Restaurants and bars in the state can now operate at full capacity. However, Gov. Ron DeSantis says local governments can keep limits in place if they're justified for health or economic reasons.
Florida's governor wants the traveling public to start traveling again. He wants the public to know that air travel is safe during the coronavirus pandemic and hopes tourists will soon return.
The judge says the order disregards safety and denies local school boards' decision-making power. The Florida Department of Education has appealed the ruling.
Tourism is one of Florida's biggest and most important industries. But visitors are shying away from the sun-splashed beaches and theme parks. Tourism numbers cratered in the last quarter.
Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods says that "effective immediately, any individual walking in to any one of our lobbies ... wearing a mask will be asked to remove it."
Gov. Ron DeSantis says the portal was designed to frustrate users, "so people just say, oh, the hell with it, I'm not going to do that." Florida has been among the slowest states to process claims.
